Knowledge of the Great God

That night, after Yinduo left, Hoffa did not return to the orphanage. Instead, he rented a small bedroom at the Leaky Cauldron and had some wizard roast meat and fresh fruit for dinner.

He had 100 Galleons. After deducting what he had spent on a wand and books, he still had over 70 Galleons left. For an eleven-year-old child, he was already more than wealthy enough.

Of course, only for the time being.

He was going to spend seven years at Hogwarts. This little money was nowhere near enough.

But he would deal with future problems in the future. Living well in the present was Hoffa's creed.

He had not felt much while busy during the day, but once the night grew quiet, the excitement in his heart became impossible to suppress. He kept taking out his newly acquired wand, turning it over and over in his hands, carefully sensing the flow of magic within his body.

In the latter half of the night, he could no longer hold himself back and dug out his spellcasting textbook.

He found a few simple spells and gave them a try. This magical wand did not disappoint him.

The unfinished wand Ollivanders had mentioned worked almost too well.

The Levitation Charm that had troubled Ron and Harry for quite some time was nearly mastered by Hoffa in the blink of an eye.

Sitting on the bed, he pointed his wand at his pillow and recited a spell.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The pillow whooshed back and forth over the bed.

After playing for a while, Hoffa began worrying that the Ministry of Magic might come looking for trouble because he had cast magic outside school. So he spent the entire night caught between anxiety and excitement.

Yet the facts proved that he had overthought it. No one came looking for him at all.

In the days before school began, Hoffa exchanged several Galleons for pounds and bought himself some ordinary clothes in London: a few pairs of jeans and white shirts. His old clothes had been far too shabby.

Then he bought some fruit and several bottles of pine nut wine, then returned to give them to Mrs. Cole as a parting gift. Though his soul did not belong to the previous Hoffa, this body had still been cared for by her for a long time.

For the remaining time, he stayed in Diagon Alley, hoping to complete the system's one-hundred-percent exploration task and obtain that so-called [Knowledge of the Great God].

Unfortunately, because he was too young, he could not enter Knockturn Alley or several other dangerous Dark Magic shops. His exploration progress could only remain at sixty percent.

Hoffa found this deeply regrettable. Only now did he realize the value of Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak. If he could turn invisible, he could go anywhere in the world. These exploration tasks would be effortless.

Unfortunately, Harry Potter's father had not even been born yet. Who knew where that Invisibility Cloak was now?

Hoffa also wanted to use his newly acquired wand to try the Disillusionment Charm, but the spell did not exist in the school's beginner spellbooks. Hoffa read through all the spellbooks and discovered that most of the spells inside were for daily life, without a single advanced spell among them.

Maybe he could find something about the Disillusionment Charm in the school library. Hoffa comforted himself with that thought.

As for the earring Yinduo had given him, Hoffa spent several days studying it without discovering anything unusual about it.

What was even more damnable was that he could not take the earring off. It was as if it had grown onto his ear. Hoffa could only pray that Hogwarts was not like the middle schools of his previous life and would allow students a little individuality.

If this were his previous life, wearing an earring to school would probably get him kicked out by a teacher on the very first day.

Time passed quickly in Diagon Alley. Before long, it was September 1, the day school began.

That day, he deliberately got up very early, almost before dawn. He was afraid that some accident would make him late and cause him to miss the train.

Hoffa did not have much luggage, so he did not push a trolley. He spent two pounds on a canvas bag and a suitcase, packed his clothes and books into the bag, then placed his folding cauldron in the suitcase.

Fortunately, he had risen early. It was pouring rain that day, and Hoffa had the misfortune of running into London's morning rush-hour traffic. He crossed several streets in succession before reaching the Underground station.

Luckily, London in this world already had an Underground. Though it was not as developed as it would be in later generations, it still went directly to King's Cross Station.

The London Underground of 1938 was not as prosperous or efficient as Beijing or Shanghai in later generations, and it was not very fast either. Some of the seats even had knitted cushions that gave off a pungent smell of cat droppings.

Several soldiers wearing green metal helmets and carrying rifles stood swaying in the train carriage.

They gathered together and laughed among themselves, while some curiously looked around.

They all looked young, probably newly recruited soldiers of the British Crown, preparing to report somewhere.

Hoffa stood in a corner with his bag on his back, watching the soldiers with mixed feelings. A few years from now, most of the soldiers he saw before him would probably be gone.

Sometimes, knowing the future was not an easy thing.

Especially in such turbulent times.

King's Cross Station was located in the King's Cross area of central London, on the Camden Borough side of the boundary between Camden Borough and Islington Borough.

By the time Hoffa emerged from the Underground station, there were already many people there. Most were dressed like Muggles. There were also wizards unfamiliar with Muggle customs, dressed in a bizarre mishmash.

Hoffa even saw several burly men in women's clothing standing beside the station, picking their noses as they chatted.

Since Hoffa knew the way, he naturally did not need to ask people by the roadside like Harry Potter had. Once he found Platforms Nine and Ten, he adjusted his bag and charged straight at the stone wall between them.

As he ran, he closed his eyes.

His speed grew faster and faster.

Then—

Bang!

With a loud crash, Hoffa, charging forward with his eyes closed, slammed headfirst into something soft.

This was followed by a clatter of objects scattering everywhere.

Caught off guard, Hoffa toppled to the ground and rolled twice.

Damn it, what kind of joke is this?

That was Hoffa's first thought.

Don't tell me I just smashed myself to death!

He climbed to his feet in utter disarray and looked up at what he had hit.

It turned out he had not hit the wall, but a silver-haired girl. She had been pushing a trolley and had suddenly blocked the path between Platforms Nine and Ten.

He had practically crashed straight into her arms, knocking all the luggage from her trolley onto the floor.

Hoffa felt like cursing. Why had this girl chosen to stand right in the middle of the way? And she was obviously not a Muggle, because among the things knocked to the ground was a white owl flapping frantically inside a cage.

Everyone else went in upright. Was she planning to go in sideways?

Though irritated, Hoffa hurried forward, pulled the girl up, and briskly began gathering her things.

"Sorry. Are you all right?" Hoffa asked without looking up as he picked things up.

After getting to her feet, the silver-haired girl folded her arms and watched Hoffa gather her belongings. She showed no intention of helping.

The air was silent.

Halfway through gathering the luggage, Hoffa sensed that something was wrong. I did hit you, but there's no need to stay completely silent, is there?

He raised his head and studied the girl carefully.

At first glance, he was stunned.

What a beautiful little girl. Her skin was fair, her face delicate and oval, silver hair draped over her shoulders, and she wore a simple white dress. Her large blue eyes stared at him without blinking, making her seem like a ghost.

Less than a second after being stunned, Hoffa was angered.

The girl said, "Keep picking them up. Why did you stop?"

Her ghostly blue eyes were filled with pride and displeasure.

Hoffa's face darkened. He had a good temper, but that did not mean he was willing to be ordered around like a house-elf. Besides, she had clearly been the one blocking the way in the first place.

"Why were you standing in the middle of the path?" Hoffa stood and asked coldly.

"I'm looking for Platform Nine. Do you know where it is?" the girl asked indifferently.

Heh. So she was a new student just like him.

Seeing how ignorant yet arrogant she looked, Hoffa felt like playing a little trick on her.

He pointed behind the girl and said, "Look, isn't that the platform?"

The girl turned around.

Taking advantage of the opening, Hoffa plunged straight into the wall without hesitation and vanished before her eyes.

The girl glanced back and frowned. "Where?"

No one answered.

She quickly turned around again.

Before her was empty space, aside from the half-collected luggage and an owl chirping wildly inside its cage. The boy from moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

The girl's expression darkened.

Emerging through the wall, Hoffa gleefully cursed under his breath.

Stupid, aren't you? That's what you get for putting on airs in front of me.

Having given the arrogant girl a small lesson, Hoffa noticed an old brass plaque embedded in a brick pillar beside the passage exit.

[Platform Nine and Three-Quarters — Established in 1849, founded by Evangeline Uppington (15th Minister for Magic)]

It was not useful information. Hoffa merely glanced at the plaque before walking out of the passage.

Before him was a sea of people. A deep-red steam locomotive stood beside a platform crowded with passengers. The sign on the train read: Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock.

Smoke from the steam locomotive curled through the pouring rain, while cats of every color darted between people's feet. Amid the hum of voices and the clamor of heavy luggage being dragged around, owls shrieked sharply in reply to one another.

Before he could properly take in the scene, a soft chime suddenly sounded in his mind.

Ding!

Wizard Secret Realm discovered

[Current Wizard Secret Realm — Platform Nine]

Complete 50% exploration of the secret realm — You will receive [One-Third Spell Fragment]

(One-Third Spell Fragment contains strange energy. Once you obtain three pieces, you can upgrade one of your spell abilities.)

Complete 100% exploration of the secret realm — You will receive [Knowledge of the Great God]

(Knowledge of the Great God is mysterious and unfathomable. Before possessing it, you have no idea what power it may hold.)

This could trigger an exploration quest too?

After a moment of surprise, Hoffa was overjoyed.

It seemed that as long as it was a wizard settlement, it could trigger an exploration task.

This time was different from the London Wizard Market, where there had been Knockturn Alley and Dark Magic shops he could not enter. This was only a platform. If he moved quickly, he could finish exploring it in no time.

Without hesitation, Hoffa began exploring.

He ran from the front of the train to the rear.

Along the way, he saw all kinds of children with pets: some carrying frogs, some holding owls, some with cats, some with rats, some playing with snakes, some playing with birds... He even saw the handsome Tom Riddle chatting and laughing with several older girls dressed in green robes.

But none of that had anything to do with Hoffa. All his attention was focused on his mindscape.

As he ran and explored, the green bar in his mindscape increased at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Twenty percent.

Thirty percent.

Forty-five percent.

Fifty percent.

Ding! Spell Fragment obtained (2/3)

Sixty percent.

Seventy percent.

Ninety percent.

One hundred percent.

Ding! [Knowledge of the Great God] obtained.

Standing at the rear of the steam train, Hoffa shuddered as a chill shot straight to his head.

A vast amount of unknown knowledge flooded into his mind. In less than a few seconds, Hoffa trembled, and an abstruse passage of text appeared in his mind.

[Milarepa Walker's Meditation Method]

Through mysterious meditation, you can continuously enhance your mental strength, strengthen your conviction, and rapidly replenish magic power.